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Wednesday, January 2, 2013

My greatest fear

This is a repost from last year, but I believe so strongly in what I wrote that I'm posting it again. I would love to hear your thoughts...please leave a comment below.

--The Only Thing I Fear

For the past couple of weeks everyone seems to be writing about New Year's
Resolutions. They are asking questions like: Do you resolve? Why or why
not? How can we help keep our resolutions? Why can’t we keep our resolutions? One piece I read stated that the reason many Americans don’t make resolutions anymore is because we have a fear of failure.
I agree. For some, fear of failure is the greatest fear of all. Therefore they don't even try:

Do. Don’t. Begin. Start. Stop.Here’s the thing: most of the resolutions we are worried about failing are all about self. And a lot of them are very insignificant. Me. My life. My betterment.

Ponder this statement for a moment:

“Our greatest fear should not be of failure, but of succeeding at things in life that don't really matter.”- Francis Chan, Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God

When our goals are to eat less chocolate, watch
less television and spend less money, we are consumed by me.

Those are all healthy (and probably wise) endeavors, but they are still all about self.

And, according to news sources, it turns out that we are so fearful of failing at these all-about-self resolutions, that many of us don't even make them anymore.

Rather than worrying about failing at our insignificant resolutions, shouldn’t our greatest fear be that we
are going to succeed at those things?

Less time on Facebook. Check.

A smaller pants size. Check.

A more organized home. Check.

Less money spent eating out. Check.

Fewer minutes wasted on mindless television. Check.

Then, once we succeed
at those things, we can pat ourselves on the back and go along living
our comfortable, self-focused life. We smile because we resolved and we did and we became.

But all the while we overlook the things in life that really matter: people. Other people.
The family member with the addiction. The coworker who just got a diagnosis. The parent who is ill. The
friend who is grieving. The child who is struggling. The neighbor who is lonely. The causes of
injustice that are too great to list.
Our biggest fear should not be that we’re going to fail at insignificant things. Our biggest fear should be that we're going to succeed at things that don't matter for eternity.At times, even 'Christian' resolutions have the potential to become self-focused and all-consuming: Read through the Bible in 2012. Memorize 52 passages of Scripture. Keep a consistent, daily quiet time. Those can absolutely be life-transforming practices. But if memorizing 52 passages of Scripture only gives you head knowledge and doesn't change the way your heart beats every single moment of every single day...it's not about Jesus. It's about self doing, becoming, stopping, starting, changing, trying, striving.

David Platt, author of Radical: Taking Back Your faith from the American Dream, talks about his greatest fear:

“My biggest fear, even now, is that I will hear Jesus' words and walk
away, content to settle for less than radical obedience to Him. ”

Radical obedience isn't about improving self. It's isn't about striving to make resolutions
that make us better people. And it certainly isn't about fearing that we are going to fail our list of 2012 resolutions.

It’s simply about falling in love with Jesus and taking care of the people He has put into your life.

It’s not
complicated. Instead of balancing your checkbook, write a check out to
help the homeless...the hungry...the hurting. Instead of worrying about getting to the gym so you can fit into smaller pants, find an elderly person who is lonely and take them
for a walk. Instead of complaining about how tired you are, ask how someone else is doing - and really listen to their answer. Instead of worrying about eating
less chocolate, take a kid from a rough home out for hot chocolate.

Don’t resolve to be, do, have, stop or start. Just go. Offer. Sit. Ask. Touch. Cry. Listen. Care.
Then you we will have nothing to fear.

"The only thing I'm afraid of is living an insignificant life."- Louie Giglio, Passion Conference 2012

2 comments:

I've never left a comment before... Over the last few months, I've read your blog from beginning to end (so far) and I want to thank you for writing. reading your blog has been life changing. My husband and I have been waiting for kids for 6.5 years, and he's been unemployed for one year... Clearly you know a little about my situation :) Despite waiting and being content for years, this last year, I became (maybe even without knowing it) extremely bitter, and reading your blog has been a real blessing to me!

Anyway, I wanted to comment because I enjoyed this post immensely both times I read it :) I've shared the premise with others, and even with my grade 7 students at school - I'm not sure if they really got it.

Thanks so much for your honesty, and for the way you've challenged and changed my thinking.

Oh Rebekah! Thank you for your comment and for taking the time to write. I am so humbled when God uses our story to bless someone else walking a similar journey. May you trust deep in your heart that God's perfect timing is worth waiting for.

In Its Time

I am a wife, a mother and a saved-by-grace writer who is learning to rest in the truth that He makes everything beautiful in its time. I write about the One whose timing and ways and plans I do not understand, but who gives joy in the midst of waiting and brings beauty out of ashes.